Giving Up Television
September 15th, 2006 by Erin Pavlina
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A lot of people know that Steve has given up watching television and I’ve received a lot of requests asking if I plan to give it up as well. The short answer is, no, I’m not planning to give it up, and here’s why.
I wrote a previous blog entry about Why I Never Watch the News, and I still don’t watch it. It’s negative, social conditioning, designed to instill fear. I only watch shows that I actually want to see, and try never to turn on the tv just to see what’s on.
Television is a medium. It’s a communication tool. Right now I think it’s being used to instill a lot of fear in people, and it’s also being used to socially condition us to buy things or do things. But television itself, as a medium, is not inherently bad. It is an effective way to disseminate information very quickly to a large number of people. If television was used as a tool to help bring our planet and people together, I would feel better about its use.
Recently my daughter started watching Nickelodeon. The shows on this station are horrid! I watched episodes of Jimmy Neutron and Fairly Odd Parents and I was shocked by what they are teaching our children. Namely, to ditch school, to defy their parents, to form cliques, to make fun of others, and worse. The reason I was so shocked to see this was because previously, all she ever watched was Noggin. I happen to love Noggin, whose slogan is “Like preschool, on TV.” The shows on Noggin are pretty good. They teach children to love, be compassionate, how to make friends, how to have good manners, to be kind, and how to be fair. Many shows call for interactions from the kids, as they teach them about colors, shapes, how to tell time, how to be nice to your siblings, etc.
I stopped letting my daughter watch Nick and have moved her back to Noggin. She has no idea what a Power Ranger is. Recently, she was at a school party and they’d invited two Power Rangers to do a demonstration with the kids. My daughter was the only one that didn’t know what a Power Ranger was. She also doesn’t know what Bratz are. And I’m glad. I don’t know how long that will last, but I’m happy right now. She watches just a few hours of television per week, which I know is way better than average. She, herself, much prefers to play with her little brother, go treasure hunting in the backyard, pretend to use her magical powers to fly, or dance and make up songs in the living room.
One reason I watch television is that I need a way to ground myself at the end of the day. I’ve heard both John Holland and John Edward say that after doing mediumship for an entire day they have to bring themselves back down to earth and they do that by drinking caffeine, watching television, and having some sugar. I’ve had days where I’ve been on the outer planes for upwards of 8 hours and I can tell you that at the end of a long day like that, I need to come down a few levels myself!
So what shows do I watch? Okay, this may surprise you. 
Here is my list:
- Charmed (before it was cancelled)
- Supernatural
- Smallville
- Medium
- Ghost Whisperer
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer (before it was cancelled)
- Angel (before it was cancelled)
- Lost
See a pattern? Okay okay, I can’t help it! I love shows with a paranormal bent to them. I’m glad those shows are on so they get people accustomed to the paranormal. I know they’re not “real” but I know they’re based on real things. I think fiction is an ingenious way to make people aware of things they wouldn’t otherwise learn about on their own.
There’s another reason why I watch those types of shows and that’s because I’m interested in writing a tv series myself. Or a book, or a movie. One of my goals is to use fiction to explain a lot of what I talk about in my blog, because fiction is so easily swallowed. Try doing a documentary about communicating with spirits and see how many people tune in. But create a show like Medium or Ghost Whisperer and people are there! There are so many things I think people on our planet need to be aware of. If no one else is going to write about them, I will.
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September 15th, 2006 at 4:57 am
Erin,
Have you read “God’s Debris” by Scott Adams? Yes… the same Scott Adams who created Dilbert, but this book is intended to be thought-provoking and NOT HUMOROUS. It is available as a free E-book at http://www.andrewsmcmeel.com/godsdebris/ and it might give you some ideas that you could apply to your book (or movie) efforts.
Dave
September 15th, 2006 at 7:04 am
Erin, Erin… you’re breaking my heart!
Of course you know what I think about television. But I do think that television is much worse for children, especially very young children, than it is for adults. And it sounds like your kids hardly watch any, which is really great.
Do be careful when you say that the medium of television is “not inherently bad.” It can be harmful — especially to small children — because of its unnatural radiation and other things, which you can read about on my site. (Look in the Site Index under “television”.)
Of course, if you want to write for television, then you’ve got to watch a lot of it.
I’m interested to hear that you find television “grounds” you. I do believe that it would turn off your connection to the outer planes!
I guess for those of us who aspire to be mediums (media?) ourselves one day, and we want to avoid sugar, caffeine, and television — could you exercise or do something else physical?
September 15th, 2006 at 8:12 am
I grew up without TV (until junior year of highschool) and it was kinda hard not knowing what the other kids were talking about. But looking back, I’m very glad I wasn’t subjected to the social conditioning. So if you have a TV, but are controlling what your kids watch, be prepared for some arguments. It’s a lot easier to just not have one in the house, or maybe you can hide it somewhere
.
September 15th, 2006 at 1:54 pm
Erin, writing a book or tv series is a great idea! The short stories on your website are REALLY good.
September 15th, 2006 at 2:47 pm
Been lurking for a while.
As bad as it sounds, I like to escape into television and books. Someone asked me the other day what I like to read and my response was heavy non-fiction and ditsy (romantic comedy) fiction. Same with TV. I like the extremes: Wayne Dyer on PBS and Sex and the City.
I also like shows that explore the nature of God. I really like Joan of Arcadia. My favorite episode was the one with the psychic while Joan is learning to play chess. The father is a cop and is really skeptical and antagonistic toward a psychic on a missing person case. Her brother, who’s into physics, says around the dinner table, what’s the difference between chess and psychics. In chess, you have to see the possible moves before they are played. It’s the same with psychics, they just see more moves than we do.
September 15th, 2006 at 5:15 pm
Erin, those are my 17 year old daughter’s favorite shows too!
And for your little ones, don’t forget about PBS. We purposely have never had cable, so the best my kids got was Sesame St., Barney, Magic School Bus, etc. Not sure what they have on these days, but I’m sure it’s better than Nick!
September 15th, 2006 at 8:13 pm
The medium of television does have some drawbacks to it, especially with children. Links of interest below.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0005339B-A694-1CC5-B4A8809EC588EEDF&pageNumber=1&catID=2
http://www.amazon.com/Amusing-Ourselves-Death-Discourse-Business/dp/0140094385/sr=8-1/qid=1158379360/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-1189808-9222354?ie=UTF8&s=books
http://www.amazon.com/Endangered-Minds-Children-Think-About/dp/0684856204/sr=8-1/qid=1158379974/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-1189808-9222354?ie=UTF8&s=books
September 20th, 2006 at 2:16 pm
There’s something about movies and television recreating my life and experiences that I find valuable… it helps me see the beauty in things, the bigger picture, get perspective.
No surprise then that being in the health-related field, I’m drawn to shows like ER and House. I do love Medium too, though. ;>
September 20th, 2006 at 11:43 pm
The world as represented by the media:
Global warming
War in Iraq
Child soldiers in Africa
Massive unemployment in the west
Rising prices for food, rent and gas
Heart attacks, stress and cancer
Deforestation and poaching
Housing shortage
Increasing crime levels
Increasing divorce rates
Blue collar crime
Now you know why I NEVER watch the news. Does the above information affect my life? Yes if I pay attention to it. No if I FOCUS on what I desire in my life.
Okay so tell me I’m ignorant I simply have to know what’s going on to be informed and come across as an educated person that the tribe wants to do business with. Well I don’t belong to the tribe and they can do business amongst themselves thank you. Yeah I don’t even watch TV. Okay so that’s a lie. I do watch TV, but I choose very carefully. Non of that mindless sitcom, violent movies and the news. I stay focused on what I desire all the time and I find that if I watch trash I get trash! The power of what the mind exudes is still not quite analysed by the scientists yet. But it is now a fact that our thoughts send out waves just like the broadcast station. So it makes sense that what we watch affects us.
So are you going to fill your mind with more news that will get you no where?
Deforestation (my blues) is a terrible crime against the planet but the more I focus on getting rich I’m able to put my money where my mouth is and help organisations that I approove of. I’m in a position to give money which is what systems require to educate the public. But by just watching the news all I’ll see is more land laid bare, see more stories of the poor people and the animals that have no where to go. Those impressions make me sad and depressed and I don’t get to help the forest, the people or the animals. The only thing I’ve done is given the TV station another viewer. Another viewer means the TV station has another stastitic for the media buyers that place commercials. You get the drift now of how this works?
I’ll tell you something else one of my businesses is making movies. How’s that? Even more reason I should be watching the TV and the movies I’ve been told so I can see what my competition is up to! I don’t care for competition. The only thing I compete against is myself. I choose the producers I work with, I choose the kind of movie and commercials I desire to be involved with. And I’m doing just splendidly but if I watch all the negative stuff I’ll be led to believe that I must be happy to get any job, because the media and every body that pays attention to the media will tell you, work is hard to come by.
So what are you watching?
Are you sitting with your family infront of the TV watching senseless violent movies and stupid sitcoms that reinforce its okay to be stuck in a rut? Do you and yours talk about what you are watching? Is your child left to work everything out on his/her own? At least talk about what you are watching. The media is made up of hype and the news channels thrive on getting it delivered to the public as quickly as possible. Movies and commercials are thought up by other people’s minds – often only with profit in mind. Violent movies are top box revenue collectors. The more individuals that enjoy that kind of entertainment the more those kind of movies will be produced. And yes violent movies do perpertrate feelings of fear and anguish. Lets face it we get involved in the movies we watch. That’s what entertainment is about – letting go and getting engrossed.
In England a couple of years ago 2 boys aged 10 and 11 walked into a shop, abducted a 3 year old boy and tortured him to death. In the court case that followed it was revealed that they had watched “Chucky”. Chucky is one of those real dumb and violent movies about a doll with a murderous heart that comes to life. Now that goes to show the power of movies on young minds.
September 21st, 2006 at 10:56 am
I would agree with you on the bad childen brocasting.
I seem to like watch you like to watch.
September 23rd, 2006 at 7:40 am
I don’t watch television either, but I love good TV shows (The Office is hilarity). Instead of having to be bombarded with advertisements and having to pay the outrageous prices for cable, I just use netflix to get TV shows. Just recently I finished up Lost to get caught up, and the first two seasons of Six Feet Under. I think its the perfect balance.
October 15th, 2006 at 10:55 pm
Erin,
I read or heard somewhere that the world treasured violinist Itzak Perlman likes to watch cartoons on tv while he is practicing his pieces. I think Lucas’ idea of using netflix to get tv shows though is a better option. I am a recovering tv addict and have not watched for four and a bit months. The cable box went out with an electrical outage and I thought this is a great opportunity to stop watching. When I feel the time is right I will graduate to netflix. For the time being, it is a wonderful experience to have the peace and tranquility for deliberate thought and living and not have ads and attitudes insidiously suggested to my thought processes. I do miss tv’s news coverage of some world events. Oddly enough, two nights ago I couldn’t shake the idea of buying an emergency radio and it came in quite handy after the rather unpleasant event of a 6.6 on the Richter Scale today. All is fortunately well. I’m learning to tune in! -as is evidenced by my finding your great web site!